Method and system for wireless communication among disparate devices

Abstract

A method and device for managing communications between a plurality of heterogeneous devices are disclosed. In one embodiment, a connectivity report is used to determine which network type to use to establish a connection. The connectivity report is prepared by a web portal and broadcast to each device connected to at least one of the network types.

1 . A method of managing communications between a plurality of heterogeneous devices connected to a plurality of networks, the method comprising:
 ranking a plurality of network types into an ordered list;   determining whether a communication link between a first device and a second device of the plurality of heterogeneous devices can be established via at least one of the network types in the ordered list; and   establishing a communication link between the first device and the second device via a highest ranked network type through which the communication link can be established.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ordered list of network types includes:
 a first type including a first wireless local area network, WLAN, alone; and   a second type including a combination of a first WLAN, a second WLAN and the Internet.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ordered list of network types further include:
 a third type including a personal area network, PAN, alone; and   a fourth type including a combination of a PAN and an additional network other than a PAN.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the ordered list of network types further includes:
 a fifth type including a carrier network, alone; and   a sixth type including a combination of a carrier network and an additional network other than a carrier network.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein one of the fifth type and sixth type is selected when a network type that does not include the carrier network is not available. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether a communication link between the first device and the second device can be established via at least one of a plurality of network types includes determining whether a selected one of a plurality of networks from a corresponding network type has sufficient bandwidth to support a desired level of communications between the first device and the second device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether a communication link between the first device and the second device can be established via at least one device functioning as a relay device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether a communication link between the first device and the second device can be established via at least one of the plurality of network types is based on a connectivity report, the connectivity report including a list of devices and the network types to which the network devices are connected. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the connectivity report is broadcast to a plurality of devices using the corresponding plurality of network types. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining whether a communication link between the first device and the second device can be established is performed by at least one of the first device and the second device. 
     
     
         11 . A device connected to at least one network type, the network type providing communications between a plurality of heterogeneous devices, the device comprising:
 a memory, the memory storing a connectivity report, the connectivity report including a list of the plurality of heterogeneous devices, at least one network type to which a device is connected and available bandwidth of each of the at least one network types; and   a processor in communication with the memory, the processor:
 receiving from a network portal a ranking of a plurality of network types in an ordered list; 
 determining whether a communication link between the device and a second device of the plurality of heterogeneous devices can be established via at least one of the network types in the connectivity report; and 
 establishing a communication link between the device and the second device via at least one highest ranked network types through which the communication link can be established. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of network types includes at least one of:
 a first wireless local area network, WLAN, alone; and   a combination of a first WLAN, a second WLAN and the Internet.   
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of network types includes at least one of:
 a personal area network, PAN, alone; and   a combination of multiple PAN networks; and   a combination of a PAN and an additional network other than a PAN.   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of network types includes at least one of:
 a carrier network, alone; and   a combination of a carrier network and an additional network other than a carrier network.   
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the processor further:
 determines if a relay device is connected to the at least one network type;   determines if a communication link can be established that includes the at least one network type and the relay device.   
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 15 , wherein the processor further determines if a connection with the relay device will provide sufficient available bandwidth to support communication between the first device and the second device. 
     
     
         17 . A computer readable medium containing computer executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for managing a plurality of heterogeneous devices in a plurality of network types, the method comprising:
 ranking the plurality of network types into an ordered list;   determining whether a communication link between a first device and a second device can be established via at least one of the network types in the ordered list; and   establishing a communication link between the first device and the second device via at least one highest ranked network type through which the communication link can be established.   
     
     
         18 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the ordered list of network types includes:
 as a first network type, a wireless local area network, WLAN, alone; and   as a second network type, a combination of a first WLAN and a second network other than the first WLAN.   
     
     
         19 . The computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the second network is a combination of a second WLAN and the Internet. 
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein one of a carrier network, alone, and a combination of a carrier network and an additional network other than a carrier network is selected when a network type that does not include the carrier network is not available. 
     
     
         21 . The computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the first device and the second device is connected to more than one network type.